Overall Approach to Patek Service

[mjm700]

What it your approach to servicing your PP?

- Do you send in your pieces for service every certain number of years?
- Do you regularly monitor the accuracy of the movement and only send in for service when needed?
- Do you take a different approach for different watches/movements (e.g., complications)?
- Have you changed your approach over time or have you adopted a different approach today?

I have 6 PPs with varying complexity and the oldest in my current collection is about 5 years old (my first couple departed before being serviced).

It would be great to get some advice as I seem to have some decent service in my future. Thanks.

[vandyologist]

Originally Posted by mjm700

What it your approach to servicing your PP?

- Do you send in your pieces for service every certain number of years?
- Do you regularly monitor the accuracy of the movement and only send in for service when needed?
- Do you take a different approach for different watches/movements (e.g., complications)?
- Have you changed your approach over time or have you adopted a different approach today?

I have 6 PPs with varying complexity and the oldest in my current collection is about 5 years old (my first couple departed before being serviced).

It would be great to get some advice as I seem to have some decent service in my future. Thanks.

I have generally waited until something is wrong before I send it in. They’ll come back factory new no matter how long it has been since its previous service. They do a great job — just sometimes takes a while.

[srvrf]

I'm relatively new to Pateks, but in the past I've only sent in my watches when something needed repair (not proactively). I may be wrong, but I don't believe this is a case where a little "preventative maintenance" would prevent a larger repair bill down the road.

[mjm700]

The long time away is definitely a deterrent to proactive maintenance. I believe most, if not all, of the instruction manuals for my references include the same recommendation to have the watch serviced every 3 to 5 years. I suppose that is the basis of my question, and I'm really not sure why PP includes that recommendation or whether there is any value.

I can distinguish this from a Rolex or other watch that I frequently rely on water resistance and want to make sure all seals are checked, etc.

[Xichan]

Originally Posted by vandyologist

I have generally waited until something is wrong before I send it in. They’ll come back factory new no matter how long it has been since its previous service. They do a great job — just sometimes takes a while.

Couldn’t agree more with this. Anchor down?

[2nastie]

If you have stored your watch right and/or had it operating as a part of a rotation, there shouldn't been any significant issues going past the recommended service date.

I'm not a watchmarker by any sorts, but I tend wait until a significant amount of time is lost during the day. Other than major issues like certain parts breaking (which should not be often), it's typically about lubricates and oils. You don't want them drying up and ceasing.

All in all, Patek should be able to fix your watch in most situations.